vinylcrocodile

Hello again!
You guys have been SO helpful so far, i thought id pry you for more info!
okay, so if you read my other post, you know im going to switzerland for 2 weeks

Lake Geneva Region (4-5days) staying in vevey
Interlaken (4-5 days) staying in grindelwald or gimmelwald
to Luzern (2-3days)
Day trip in Zurich on the way to Milan (or couchsurf one night here)

And it seems the only reason people go to swizerland in the summer is to hike!
Soo I was curious to know, as someone who has never hiked in her life, how i would go, if i caught a cable car or something and then hiked little bit down..
COuld someone give me an example route, like the schiltorn or something..where would i get off for a reasonable walk down...is it like a path?
I want a leisurely type downhill walk, or uphill, but not like full on mountain hike ;p


http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/5978/pathlg9.png
what about this? Sorry about being totally clueless.
thankyou thankyou thankyou =D

ps. sorry if you have already seen this, i posted it in the wrong place by mistake

kwren

I stayed in Lauterbrunnen this summer and took the perfect hike for you! Go to Mannlichen and hike the easy Panorama Weg to Klein Scheidigg. It will take about and hour 15 minutes, follows the contours of the mountains while still being flat, affords gorgeous views. Once you get to KS you can take the train back. Very leisurely and you'll love it!

swandav2000

Hi again,

Two wonderful walks I've enjoyed in the Lake Geneva region are these:

1. The flowered lakeside promenade in Montreux, which stretches for 11 km. Take the train or bus from Vevey to Villeneuve, then walk back to Montreux, passing the Chillon castle along your way. Once you get to Montreux, keep walking until you get to the suburb of Clarens. There are numerous cafes & benches along the route to keep you going!

2. The vineyard walk of the Corniche Lavaux. Now, this one runs about 32 km, so you may not want to do the whole thing!! One very easy stretch is from Chexbres down to Rivaz, about 45 minutes. Take the train from Vevey to Chexbres (called the "wine train"!). Once in Chexbres, just head downhill toward the shimmering blue waters of the lake. Before long, you'll be in the vineyards. Keep walking downhill, and you'll see the red-roofed village of Rivaz below you. Head for it. When you get to Rivaz, stop for a glass of wine or coffee at the Auberge de Rivaz. Then, if you want to continue your walk, you can either go left toward St. Saphorin or right toward Cully. Here's a link to a map: http://www.lavaux.com/navigation.asp?page=balades.asp

Have fun!

s

vinylcrocodile

thanks for that site swandav!
and that sounds like a good trail kwren
thnks

suze

I always visit Switzerland in the summer & have never hiked in my life -lol! Just thought I'd mention it.

The cable car I told you about in another posting, Roches de Naye from Montreux, gives people the opportunity to hike all or part of the trail.

And I do love to walk along the quai (lakeside promonade) in Vevey or Montreux. It's gorgeous.

Walk up the hill to the Old Town in Montreux, that's a 'hike' in itself. Find the cobblestone street down in town and follow it, up, up, up.

beaupeep

Nah, people come over here to drink the wine and sit in the sun! There are a couple of good books about hiking around Lake Léman. Do you read French? And you could also take the Belle Epoque steamboats over to Thonon-les-Bains and walk through the nature preserve which is right on the lake and go swimming there.
Susan

sunstar

Here is a link to another thread where a few of the Swiss posting fans posted some information on some of their-our favorite walks in this area.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2

sunstar

Whoooops, that link worked NOT!

But key in Berner Oberland hiking in the search window deal and you'll find some threads about hiking in the area. One such thread was named "Hiking in Berner Oberland".

Some of us listed some of our favorite walks and hikes in the area.

I can tell you 2 of my favorite walks now.

The Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg walk and the Murren to Winteregg stroll.

But more walks are mentioned in that thread I mentioned.

bob_brown

I have posted quite a bit on this topic over the years. One aspect of downhill hiking that you should consider is this: As steep as some of those trails are, the descent can be very hard on the knees.

For example, one of the really gorgeous trails is the Eiger North Wall trail between the rail station known as Eigergletscher and Alpiglen. Going down, the surface is in places both gritty and steep. Coming up is easier in many respects because you do not constantly fight against slipping as you descend.

Five trails I know well in that area are these:

1. The Männlichen crest to Kleine Scheidegg (as described above). This is an easy descent on a broad trail with views of the Eiger and Jungfrau all the way it seems.

2. First (gondola station) to the Bachsee with chances to go many other places. This trail is up and down but never extreme. To reach First, take the Grindelwald - First gondola. (First is a Swiss-German word that means ridge.)

3. First to Grosse Scheidegg. This trail is fairly flat as alpine trails go. It crosses a meadow so you have excellent viewing as you walk. You can take the Post Bus from Grosse Scheidegg back to Grindelwald. There is a nice cafe on the crest of the pass.

4. Pfingstegg gondola station to Stieregg. This trail leads high along the glacier into the heart of the inner mountain world. Icefalls, glaciers and snowfields are all around as you walk along a gently rising trail. The gondola goes up from the downhill side of the church in Grindelwald.

5. Grutschalp to Mürren. Take the new cable car from Lauterbrunnen to Grutschalp and walk to Mürren. The main ridge of the Berner Oberland dominates the view to the south. The Jungfrau is just to your left as you walk along.
There is a restaurant along the way.

A fifth one I like leads into a deep secluded and enclosed glacial cirque with water falls, high cliffs, and meadows. The trail originates in Gimmelwald, which is about the only reason I can think of go to go Gimmelwald, and leads along a glacial stream to its end agains towering walls of the Gspaltenhorn.

kwren

Hi vinylcroc

if you would like to see a few picutres of our trip from Lauterbrunnen to Mannlichen and the hike from there to Kleine Scheidigg, go to

http://tinyurl.com/jtaf2

It was very cloudy that day and the hike was still wonderful.

enzian

Hi vinylcroc---If you are not a hiker, you should be very careful hiking alone. The five walks described by bob_brown are all fine to do on your own; the terrain is not difficult and you will have plenty of company. I'm not familiar with the ones around Lake Geneva, but I'm sure swandav's and suze's recommendations are fine too.

Do make sure you have proper footwear--trainers are fine for these walks, but don't try them in sandals, clogs, etc. And carry a wind- or rain-jacket even if the weather looks fine when you set out.

Downhill walks, such as the one down from the Schilthorn, are actually quite strenuous and can be dangerous---the path may be rocky, snowy, or slippery for other reasons, or the trail obscured and hard to find. These paths are not as well-traveled, and if you were to twist your ankle, you might have to wait a bit for help. I would not undertake anything like that hike alone, and I am a very experienced hiker.

If you stay at the Mountain Hostel in Gimmelwald, you are likely to meet other young people you can join for hiking on the more difficult trails. This may be true of the other hostels as well, but I only know about the Gimmelwald one because my kids (young adults) have stayed there and really enjoyed meeting other people from all over the world.

Cicerone

Some good advice so far, the Männlichen and Grutschalp walks in the Jungfrau valley esp are superb and very easy (basically flat) for non-hikers. The walks downhill in the vineyards above Vevey are truly sublime IMO, the tiny villages, the vineyards, the huge lake with the little ferries dotted about and snowy Alps in the distance, everything is just lovely. I would add to the above list a trip to Kandersteg, the next valley over from the Jungfrau, and try the excellent and also easy walk to the beautiful Oeschinensee lake, see below.

Switzerland’s walking and hiking trail system is extensive and well marked. You can do many walks by yourself, esp in the lower elevations and in good weather. If you don't already have them there are two excellent books on walking in Switzerland. The first is Swiss Bernense Oberland by Philip and Louise Alspach. This gives an overview of the BO and gives details on several walks. The second is the Lonely Planet book "Walking in Switzerland". This rates walks by fitness level, and even walks for kids. It also gives directions for using public transport. I find both accurate and very helpful. The Oeschinensee walk is described in both.

There are two main Swiss walking clubs which also offer guided walks, you might try their websites (may be only in German, Italian or French, but you could tray babbelfish translations):

Swiss Hiking Federation at http://www.swisshiking.ch/
Swiss Alpine Club at http://www.alpen-journal.de/links.html

The local tourist offices in each town and village often have information on guided walks or solo walks as well. Try the one in Geneva, and many towns and villages have their own websites, you can find links to them at myswitzerland.com

There is a very good group that some of my friends and colleagues have used called Alpine Hikers, go to http://www.alpinehikers.com; they have organzied walking toursw and will also custom design something for you.